Par Graeme Decarie le 4 novembre 2010

The young professor snapped his pencil in half in an act of passionate drama. “We must define our culture,” he said. The heads of his colleagues nodded. They had to protect their culture, of course. And they were determined to do so. But first they had to figure out what it was.

Par Dan Laxer le 4 novembre 2010

Gilles Rhéaume and his Ligue Québécoise contre la francophobie canadienne are heading to the United Nations to ask the Human Rights Committee to denounce “Quebec bashing” as a form of racism, discrimination, and xenophobia.

Par Dan Delmar le 4 novembre 2010

Witnessing a hysterical Pauline Marois shrieking in the National Assembly a few days ago, describing the Québécois as a “petit people” could be interpreted as one of many signs that this province has lost its way; that it is the societal equivalent of a 13-year-old with adolescent angst and a desire to angrily lash out against authority figures. Marois’ fit provided a rare moment of honesty and insight into the attitudes of Quebec’s sovereignist political class. The leader of the Parti Québécois wants to lead a small people – in numbers, surrounded by Anglo North America, yes – but does she also want to lead a weak people; lost, confused and distracted by the red herrings of petty linguistic squabbles?

Par Alan Hustak le 4 novembre 2010

You may not have heard of the Quebec Freedom Network, but you will now. They turned people away at the door so full was its opening meeting in Quebec City this past weekend. Over 500 people listened to Ezra Levant, Tasha Kheiriddin, Adam Daifallah and Eric Duhaime advocate for a freer, less invasive Quebec state with a dramatically reduced bureaucracy and a greater emphasis on self-reliance. The next gathering of the Reseau Liberte- Quebec will be in Montreal, perhaps even on the West Island

Par Beryl Wajsman le 4 novembre 2010

A local media ad campaign has used the slogan “words matter” for some time. Sadly that is not getting through to our intelligentsia. Words should matter and we shouldn’t waste so much time arguing what language they are spoken in.

Par Alan Hustak le 4 novembre 2010

Vera Danyluk’s anger over the attempted rape of a young teenager in Montreal’s quiet, upscale Town of Mount Royal neighbourhood 40 years ago led her into a life of public service when she co-founded a Women’s Committee on Public Safety. The committee began demanding better police protection, and it helped launch her distinguished career in public service. She went on to win a seat on council, four elections as mayor of Town of Mount Royal, today a municipality in Montreal’s recently re-constituted system of municipal government, and served for eight years as Chairman of the Montreal Urban Community’s now defunct regional authority.

Par David T. Jones le 4 novembre 2010

This is the time of "spin." The Democrats sound as if they were victims of an IED blast, delighted to have only lost an arm and a leg instead of two of each. The Republicans sound like roosters believing that the sun rose because they crowed.The reality check is more complex. The Democrats were sharply defeated, losing the House of Representatives, but not as catastrophically as was predicted earlier in the summer. And, they retained control of the Senate, saving their vulnerable majority leader Harry Reid. Moreover, Democrats gained a great, oft unmentioned prize: the governorship of California, which will assist them substantially in the 2012 presidential election.

Par Dan Delmar le 4 novembre 2010

A steady stream of beer, wine and fried snacks were being served to patrons crammed into the John Sleeman Pub on Peel St. as they watched U.S. election events unfold last week on big-screen TVs, cheering and jeering with every development. The atmosphere had all the markings of a major sporting event, but the crowd wasn’t watching the Canadiens losing to the Blue Jackets. They were watching the Democrats lose the House of Representatives to the Republicans and almost lose the Senate as well.

Par David T. Jones le 4 novembre 2010

After nine years of carefully navigating between the Scylla of global revenge against the Muslim world for 9/11 and the Charybdis of insisting Islam is inherently peaceful with the 9/11 terrorists depicted as nonreligious miscreants, we have gone aground. Americans are now impaled on the Constitutional imperative of First Amendment "free speech"-- which we have made even more a national shibboleth than the right to bear arms. Over the years, it has mattered not that many other countries have scuttled free speech and/or neutered it in practice (if it might be interpreted as "hate speech," it must be foregone or punished). We have exulted in discord.

Par Beryl Wajsman le 4 novembre 2010

So often today, throughout the free nations of the West, we seek leadership. Not simply the elected kind that confuses bookkeeping with boldness and social engineering with social progress. We seek the kind of leadership that with clarity, candour and courage gives us confidence in ourselves and realistic hope for our nation. The kind of leadership that dares to care, refuses to merely run between the raindrops and does not let focus groups and polls determine its vision and values. This week one of the last ties to one of the last such leaders died. Theodore Chaikin Sorensen passed away at the age of eighty-two from complications of a stroke.

Par Robert Presser le 4 novembre 2010

A US president comes to power promising a change in foreign policy after the previous administration is discredited by overseas wars and tensions among its allies. A recent world financial crisis, coupled with increased spending on social programs has strained government spending. Upon entering office, the new president increases US military iniiatives in the hope of bringing a swift end to the fighting. Almost two years into his mandate, the mid-term elections loom and the president is facing important losses in both the House and Senate, threatening his administration’s ability to pursue its agenda. A presidency that began with so much promise has delivered little success abroad and at home, and fears the results coming in November.

Par Father John Walsh le 4 novembre 2010

The canonization of Brother André brought many Montrealers to Rome. Inevitably they will complain about the long line-ups to visit the Sistine Chapel but will they have uncovered the secrets of the Sistine Chapel? Viewing the work of Michelangelo is breathless but does the Chapel still hold its secrets from the average visitor. The incredible frescoes required a rather complex method to prepare the plaster before the first stroke of the paintbrush would bring color to life. Imagine Michelangelo laying on his back for four and a half years painting the entire ceiling and walls of ceiling and walls of the Chapel. The Chapel is a replica, of identical size, of the Jerusalem Temple and symbolized the successionism of Catholicism over Judaism. The masterpiece has, from the time of its painting, been regarded as an affirmation of the Roman Catholic Church’s central place in the economy of salvation.

Par Dan Delmar le 4 novembre 2010

Religious extremism in Islam, Tarek Fatah says, is a “disease that is affecting us to the point that we’re becoming insane with our hatred. I wanted to investigate what is the root cause of the hatred of the Jews.”Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Fatah is the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress and the author of the just-released “The Jew is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Anti-Semitism.” His book tour included two stops in Montreal last week, including one at Côte St. Luc’s Beth Israel Beth Aaron Synagogue.

Par Alan Hustak le 4 novembre 2010

The bust of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy that has stood outside the Place des Arts metro station since 1986 is no longer there. Because he public square in which it stood is being rebuilt as part of the new Symphony Hall project, the statue has been taken away and JFK Square has been renamed Promenade des Artistes.

Par Roy Piperberg le 4 novembre 2010

Par Alan Hustak le 4 novembre 2010

“I never give any information about me in writing because you can tell at a glance my paintings contain the most accurate information about me. I have no intention of revealing to the astonished bourgeois and contemporaries the depths and abyss within my soul,” the German artist Otto Dix once wrote to a friend. That may explain why the engrossing exhibition running until January at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Rouge Cabaret, A terrifying and Beautiful World, is both an immersive experience and a revelation. Not only do the 220 works on display examine the career of Otto Dix but follow a chronology that emphasizes the peculiar mix of decadence and despair which not only represents “the abyss within” his soul, but the dehumanizing times through which he lived.

Par Fanny La Croix le 4 novembre 2010

As we pass the 40th anniversary of the October Crisis, my thoughts turn not to the lessons learned, if any, from this not-so-quiet revolution, or to questions surrounding the state of Quebec’s ongoing war between the two solitudes. No, my thoughts turn to that spring day when I, a young, eager Canadian actress was cast as FLQ terrorist Louise Lanctôt in a big-budget (by Canadian standards) CBC series recounting the events. A particularly vivid memory of the panic-attack that ensued comes to mind: How would I be credible in a role that would have me violently fight for the break-up of this beautiful country?